Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp

At Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp there are only 10 luxury safari tents, which all feel private and exclusive. Large and comfortable beds sit in the middle of the tents, covered in crisp white bed linens and romantically swathed in mosquito netting. The tents feel authentic and comfortable, with local artefacts dotting the room and furniture being made from natural materials.

The atmosphere inside the room is earthy, with a natural earth toned colour palette running throughout the room, and large netted windows letting in bright light and offering a view of thick dark green forest trees. Each tent has its own ensuite bathroom which comes complete with a free-standing bath, perfect for relaxing after a long day. The tents all come with a veranda which is surrounded by trees, allowing guests to feel fully immersed in the rainforest.

Guests can enjoy fine wine and dining in the dining cottage and bar. With a view overlooking the rainforest guests can eat delicious, freshly prepared meals. A continental breakfast and full English is what awaits guests in the morning, and if you have a long day ahead of you a picnic can be arranged for you to take on your adventures. Drinks can be enjoyed under the wide, star filled sky around the campfire before or after a three course dinner. Private dinners can be arranged for guests to enjoy an exclusive and romantic evening.

For a once in a lifetime experience guests of Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp can track the mountain gorillas of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forests. Experienced guides will accompany guests to see one of the ‘habituated’ family of gorillas. Permits need to be booked in advance, and guests will be able to spend up to an hour in the company of the mountain gorillas.

For guests wishing to immerse themselves in the local culture a day can be spent with the Batwa Tribe. Beginning with a walk through the forest to reach the tribe, guests will then spend time with the Batwa Tribe. Also known as the Twa Tribe, their traditions and culture reaches back for centuries. To appreciate their culture guests will be able to watch a music performance, a hunting demonstration and view the homesteads to see how they live. This activity will leave guests with a deeper understanding and appreciation of the culture and communities which surround Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp.

There are a variety of walks guests can chose from at Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp. For guests with a keen interest in birds, then guided birding walks can be arranged, all guests need are a pair of binoculars to be able to see some of the 350 bird species which live in the area. With no better way to immerse yourself in the forest than on foot, a guided walk of the forest can be arranged.

Take your time to stroll through the forest, keeping your eyes peeled for some of the amazing wildlife inhabiting the trees. Guests can walk to the amazing Munyaga waterfall and back within 3 hours. Guests can choose a walk which takes them through a tea farming project, a local beer brewery, the local hospital – where you can stop and see some of the ongoing projects – and visit a local medicine man in the nearby village.

To explore further around the area guests can enjoy a game drive to Ishasha, within the Queen Elizabeth National Park and see if they can spot any elephants, lazy hippos, warthogs and the famous tree-climbing lions who are often seen enjoying a nap on the branches of gigantic fig trees.

After a long day of tracking gorillas, hiking around the forest and exploring the bird life of Bwindi, guests can relax and self-indulge in the mini spa. Enjoy a stress relieving massage with eco friendly products which will melt any knots or tensions.

Since the opening of their first camp in Kenya in 1999, Sanctuary Retreats have been committed to responsible tourism and conservation. They aim to create long-lasting relationships with local communities and select projects based on this potential. Working closely with communities to improve their well-being they identify “long-term, viable and self-sustaining projects that will have the support of our staff and visitors.”

Sanctuary Retreats “strives to improve the lives of the local communities in which we operate.” In Uganda, Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp works in partnership with the Uganda Nursing School Bwindi helping to invest in and provide scholarships for students who will be the area’s future nurses and health care workers at Bwindi Community Hospital. Facing a shortage of nurses year after year, the Nursing School has helped train new nurses and has allowed the centre to be able to provide health care “for 40,000 patients annually.”

As well as sending teams of nurses into more remote areas, to provide healthcare for these remote communities. The Nursing School trains nurses who are “from the region, speak the local language and understand local customs.”

Pregnancy still carries sometimes life threatening complications for some women, especially women who live in remote areas and do not have access to a close hospital. Sanctuary Retreats and the guests of Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp have been “working toward eliminating these problems among Batwa women” who live near the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The Waiting Mothers’ Hostel was created to provide vital support for expectant mothers by giving them a safe space to stay in the later stages of their pregnancy. The home has recently been expanded and a new wing added to include more beds so more women can be looked after before birth.

In a remote corner of South-Western Uganda sits Bwindi Ebenezer Primary School. Running and maintaining a school which is this remote is a challenge, and that is where Sanctuary Retreats have stepped in to help. Currently serving around 124 pupils, the school is still relatively new, meaning it doesn’t receive government funding yet. Sanctuary Retreats is working at the school to “build sufficient infrastructure to satisfy Government registration requirements.” They are also helping teachers to establish salaries, buying textbooks and furniture and building proper toilets and classrooms. Sanctuary Retreats believes by improving the education and safety of children the whole community will be able to feel the benefits.

Sanctuary Retreats supports the Bwindi Women’s Bicycle Enterprise. This employs six local women from communities around Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda – they were trained how to be mechanics and given business skills – so donated bikes can be sold to members of the community who need to travel such as health care workers and students. Donated bikes have been collected from the US, UK and Australia. This enterprise empowers these local women and provides them the opportunity to earn an income whilst helping their community. Similar enterprises such as this bike shop are supported in Botswana, Tanzania and Zambia.

Rhinos are still under huge threat from poaching due to the persistent belief that powdered rhino horn can be used as a medicine, so “Sanctuary Retreats has partnered with Rhino Conservation Botswana Defence Forces and others to translocate 20 rhino, both black and white, from South Africa to Botswana where they will be safer from poachers.”

This project focuses on educating the local Botswana youth on the elephant’s importance in the ecosystems to help curb the ongoing struggle between humans and elephants. Sanctuary Camp guests and local school children can interact with the elephants during excursions meant to introduce the local children to the animals. “With a new understanding and appreciation for the elephants and their place in the local ecosystem, the children feel inspired to protect their future.”

Sanctuary Retreats work closely with Maasai communities in Kenya to help positively impact education, by building classrooms and sponsoring student school fees, developing community enterprise and encouraging conservation. They also have an initiative to introduce sustainable means to acquire clean water for local school students, with a similar initiative in Zambia and Tanzania too.

Sanctuary Retreats have partnered with local schools in Tanzania, close to Tarangire National Park to provide “education and support for the next generation of conservationists.” Another school that is being supported here is Ilboru School for children with special needs. Local businesses have been supported in Zambia with eight local female artisans working in Sishemo Bead Studio in Nakatindi. Through this, these women have a chance to improve not just their own lives but also their families.

Sanctuary Retreats works more widely within the village of Nakatindi in Zambia, supporting their primary school by providing school lunches, refurbishing classrooms and building a medical clinic in 2013. Sanctuary Retreats have partnered with the rural village of Sin Kyun in Myanmar. Working alongside the Chief of the village they have built a Middle School, a house for teachers, and provided emergency assistance during severe flooding.